Method of storing and removing silage.



R. T. HosKsNG. METHOD OFVSITORING AND REMOVING SILAGE.

APPLICATION FILI-:I5 FEB- 9, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patmed Aug-. 17, 1915.

y T all whom t may concern annA srarns-i RICHARD T. HOSKING, OF SAGINAW, MICHIGAN.

METHOD or s'roRING AND REMovrNGl sILAGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Augt17, 19155 Application aied'rebruai-y 9, 1914. serian No. 817,575.

Be it known that I, RICHARD T. HosKINc,

. a citizen of the United States, residing at by which to make possiblethe employment Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw and .State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Storing and Removing Silage; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact'descripti/on of the invention, such as. will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the use of silos Y and pertains more particularly to a method of storing and removing ensila'ge commonly called sil'age. l i

The objects of my improvements are, first, to provide a method by which silage can be gradually removed fromthe silo, whilekeeping the upper part of the silo closed and exposing a minimum amount of the stored silage to the action of the air.

Another object is to facilitate the removal of the completely fermented or cured silage, making practicable the refilling, at any time, of a silo that has been partly emptied, without having to feed the cattle from the refilled portion before the fermentation period is completed.

A further object is to remove the silage from below without stirring, breaking or otherwise disturbing the mass, thereby preventing access of air up through the mass and spoiling or deteriorating the silage.

A further object is to provide a method of silos of relatively large diameter and low height, enabling the user to remove the quantity of sila'ge necessary forl the varying feed requirei'nents without loss of silage due to exposure of any considerableyitrea of the mass to the air.

An important Aobject is `the reduction of the wall space per ton capacity; because. heat and the exclusion of air are necessaryf for-th production ofgood silage, the reduction o wall space per. ton capacity minimizes the losses lof silage caused by the passage of air into the silo through porous walls; and the reduction of wall spacealso reduces the loss of heat by conductivity.

" through the walls. The intaking of -air through porous walls causes the decaying of silage and the lossl of heat-by conduction checks the desired fermentation and if sufficiently aggravated results in the freezing of.A the silage. L l A further object is to obtlfViate the danger and inconvenience of climbing to the top level of the silage at each feeding period. 60 Another. advantage inherent in my method,-which ma-kes possible the constructing of silos of comparatively large diameter and low height, is that the 'stability and strength of silos -so constructed are greatly 65 lncreased. Y Y i These objects and. certain others which w1 ll appear later in the specification are ,ob-- tamed by myimproved method, the operation of which, together with one means for l I carrying out the method will now be eX- plained.

g It is well known inthe artof storing and' certain to deliver a uniform product without 'I waste, and with a minimum of labor. 85 v ln the former method, it has been customary to put the silage into a silo having a door-way extending from top to bottom, through which to remove the material from above as wante The upper surface of the mass, is therefore, continually exposed to' the action of the air. After twentyfour hours, or thereabout, silage that has been eX-'`V posed to the -air becomes spoiled for food. It is, therefore, necessary in the former method that the amount required for the] daily feeding be removed each day fromthe top of the mass in a layer of approximately uniform thickness throughout the entire area of the top. If this isnot done, the top of the mass, remaining exposed to the `\air for a longer period than twenty-four hours,\will spoil and, therefore, be wasted.

Another disadvantage of removing silage from the top as -abovedescribed isthat the quantity of silage that must be removed per day is practically fixed, regardless of the varying feeding requirements. For example, a silo sixteen feet in diameter will 'feed a herd of thirty cows if a layer of approxi mately two inches of silage is taken from the top of the mass each day. It is found in practice that unless this amount is removed, the silage at the top of the mass will spoil. Similarly, a silo ten feet in diameter will feed a herd of eight cows, allowing a removal of two inches per day. Now, if a silo operated by the former method is installedfor a herd of thirty cows, and if during the feeding season the herd is reduced, to say, eight cows, a great portion of the contents of the sixteen-foot silo must become deteriorated on account of exposure to the air. To overcome this serious disadvantage of the former method it has sometimes -been the practice to install a number of small silos instead of a single large one, but the cost in such cases is much greater.

Another disadvantage of the former method is that the newest silage, which is at the top of the mass, is the rst to be removed, whereas betterl results are secured if the oldest silage is removed first.

It is to be borne in mind that silage eX- posed to the air for twenty-four hours, or thereabout, Will become spoiled and it is, therefore, necessary to protect the surface of the mass of silage from the action of the air as much as possible.

To overcome the difficulties and disadvantages of the former system of storing and removing silage, I have devised my improved system, which consists in filling the silo, allowing it to stand until the fermenting and heating process is completed, and then progressively removing the silage from the bottom of the mass in a layer of substantially uniform thickness throughout the entire cross sectional area of the silo. `While so doing, I protect the bottom surface of the mass from such contact with air as would cause minimum deterioration of the silage at the new surface of the mass.

My improved method can be carried out in a number of ways, and it is to be understood that I do not desire to limit the application of my invention to any one mechanism for producing, storing orremoving the silage, but for purpose of illi'istrating and describing my improved method, have selected one embodiment of such devices, which is shown in the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a vertical section of a silo adapted to operate in accordance with my improvement. l? ig. EZ is a part sectional side elevation of the revoluble interior bottom and the mechanism by which it is operated. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same.

l represents the body of the silo.

2 isthe mass of silage.

3 is a suitable revoluble interior bottom on which the mass of silageA rests.

4 are gears by which the revoluble bottom Lineare may be rotated about its central axis, any suitable means being employed for operating the gears.

5 is a suitable slot or opening in the revoluble bottom through which a portion of the silage may be removed from the bottom of the mass whiledthe revoluble bottom is being turned bymeans of the gears.

The revoluble bottom may be in the form of a platform having one or more radial slits therein, or it may be of any other con- .-truction so long as it fulfils the essential requirements that the bottom of the mass of silage shall not be exposed to the action of the air to any great extent. Y/

The silage is -removed through the slot, either by scraping, raking, shearing, or in anyother suitable manner, while the bottom is being revolved and is preferably automatically sheared from the bottom of the mass by the cutting action of the advancing edge of the slot 5, the severed silage dropping through the slot into the space beneath the revoluble bottom whence it can be removed by hand. It is evident that no part of the silage is exposed to the action of the air, except that small part immediately adjacent the slot. the silage is removed from the bottom, the mass settles as a solid body or column, the interior ofthe mass remaining intact and not being stirred or'displaced so that air can get into it.

lt is one'of the important functions ofany improvement to enable the removall olif, the I.

silage at any desired rate to suit various rates of feeding without at any time exposing any considerable area of the mass to the action of the air and without disturbing the mass while it isl being graduallyremoved for feeding purposes.

Any suitable loose cover, as indicated at (i, may be used to exclude the air from the upper surface of the mass. Such a cover prevents to a considerable extent the spoiling of the upper surface of the mass. lt is possible, however, to omit the cover and allow the silage to spoil for a depth of, say, sin inches, to form an air seal.

By the above method, a minimum surface of the mass of silage is exposed to the action of the air. It is possible to feed down the silage as fast or slow as it is needed for varying numbers of animals to be fed. ,A silo of standard size is by this system adapted to almost any requirements within its maximum storage capacity, because the eX cluding of the air both during the time of storage and during the removal of the material maires it possible to preserve the silage unspoiled for even'two years or more, if necessary. Silos of relatively large diameter and low height possess increasedstability and strength and my be located so as to be protected in the lee of a barn'or other structure instead of necessitating the building of wind storms. possible to so construct the silos that the liability of damage by wind is minimized.

Having thus described my invention, what I` claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The herein-described method of storing und removing silnge which consists in delpositing suitable material intoa silo, allowing the contents to stand until cured, and progressively removing from the bottom of the mass e rela-tively thinl layer of silage while protecting the new surface of vsaid mass from direct contact with the atmosphere.

2. The herein-described method of storing and removing silage, which consists in'depositing suitable material into a silo, allow# ing the contents to stand until cured, and progressively removing from the bottom of the mass a relatively thin layer of sila-ge while protecting the bottom of said mass from the air, the aren of said layer being substantially equal to the area 'of the bottom of said mass.

3. The herein-described method .of storing and removing silage, which consists in filling a silo, allowing the contents to stand until cured, and progressively removing the` bottom of the massa A In testimony whereof, I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD T. HOSKING. Witnesses:

NELLIE M. ANGUS, FRANK L; MARTINDALE.

Uopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, ny addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

